Rents in Oshawa on the decline – National Rent Report

While rents across most of the country are on an upward spiral, housing expenses in Oshawa continue to decline, making it a good time for renters and not so much for landlords in the Motor City.

The one bright side for investors looking to maximize their return is the drop of $155 a month for one-bedroom units in August to $1,708 is only a 2.5 per cent decline. Rents averaged $1,863 in July, 4.3 per cent down from the previous month.

The price of a two-bedroom unit in Oshawa, however, fell 2.9 per cent in July to $2,074, a slightly steeper decline from July’s average of $2,200 a month, which was down 1.8 per cent from the previous month.

Year-over-year, rents in Oshawa are down 1.1 per cent for one-bedrooms and 2.6 per cent for two-bedrooms.

Of the 35 cities surveyed in Rentals.ca and Urbanation’s latest National Rent Report, Oshawa was 25th in average rent, with just London, Niagara Falls and Windsor with more affordable housing options in Ontario.

Asking rents for all residential property types in Canada averaged $2,187 in August, increasing by 3.3 per cent over the past year.

Rents grew at their slowest annual rate in 34 months, decelerating sharply from annual growth rates of 5.9 per cent in July, seven per cent in June and 9.3 per cent in May. The moderation in rent increases can be attributed to apartment completions this year reaching their highest total in decades, as well as a recent slowdown in population growth and a softening labour market.

Since reaching a record high of $2,202 in May, average asking rents in Canada have declined slightly by 0.7 per cent. Outside of the COVID-19 period, it is historically “irregular” for rents to decline at this time of year, Urbanation declared.

B.C. and Ontario continued to represent the provinces with the highest rents in August, despite recording annual declines. Average asking rents for apartments declined 5.2 per cent annually to $2,536 in B.C. and decreased 4.3 per cent year-over-year in Ontario to $2,390. Rent inflation remained strong in the rest of the country.

Vancouver remains the most expensive city for renters in Canada, with one-bedroom units costing an average of $2,708 per month, followed by its suburb Burnaby at $2,500. Toronto ($2,428) and Mississauga ($2,348) took the next two spots.